Draft Mission:
Andover School District is committed to providing responsive technology and digital literacy for all students and the entire Andover Public School community that will prepare our students to thrive in an ever changing globally competitive world.
General:
Raise the bar -- strive for excellence, not just improvement
Paradigm shift is happening - the right technology can help
Community of Learners
Develop students to become life long learners Ideas about the technology itself:
Ubiquitous access and use of technology at home and school
Device independent, flexible
Leverage cloud computing
Low cost (to the school) Where the strategic plan and curriculum is heading:
Emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication and collaboration
Students as members of a global community
Support 21st century learning skills and performance
Student-centered learning with teachers as coaches Critical dependencies:
_
Current Vision Statement
From the flip chart at the meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (in blue):
Everyone has connectivity wherever they are.
- in the classroom
- library after school
- teachers, staff, students, volunteers, parents
? email accounts Examples of this would be that anyone, anywhere, in any school building would have internet (and presumably network) access. Energized faculty
- faculty can initiate new technology Examples of this would be that teachers and students could apply for "grant" money to initiate some new technology in their classroom. The idea behind this would be that it would be borne from a real classroom need and desire, the research of feasibility is done by the requestors, there is buy-in and ownership from the faculty and students, and that nothing is being artificially imposed upon the teachers. Concerns about equity from building to building or course to course will work themselves out in time - especially as ideas about differentiation are spread throughout the schools. It might benefit some children to learn a particular unit without the use of technology and some other children would benefit more by the use of technology, for example. Instruction in ethical use of technology Examples of this would fall under the ethics, good choices, and character education that already exist and evolve. Some attention would be paid to technology specific items, but if the overall education is already happening, student merely need to learn to apply the principles to technology. For example, students know and learn that stealing is wrong. What they don't see is that when they take music, for example, from each other or share software, that can also be stealing. Included would be the learning of making good choices about where they go on the Internet. Student centered learning Examples of this are found in the Alan November video, many of our discussion and it keeps coming back to shifting the paradigm from teachers as the benefactors of knowledge to teachers as co-learners. Parent involvement
- access to classroom learning in evening An example of this is the parent gets to look at a website to see what his/her child did in class that day to help inform their interaction with the child that night. There are some canned possibilities that allow parents to see quiz scores, attendance/tardy information, but to me, the real world application is one where the students keep a blog of what goes on in their class each day. This will vary depending on the child's age, but it is easy to imagine that a classroom job be a quick recap of the day or unit including a picture or two each day to a blog that the parents can access and (!) comment on. Shift cost away from school
- free software
- network providers An example of this is the proposal that Ray has outlined for us about bringing a 4G network into the school. It addresses concerns about connectivity as well as cost. Differentiated learning available to in every classroom - enriched/ES This item came up as a way of including the idea that technology can be a terrific tool to help with differentiation. Ray mentioned an online charter school as one example of the way that technology can support differentiation. For different schools the woord differentiation means different things. It might refer to learning styles, learning abilities, and learning preferences. It should include all of these things. Differntiation is not easy and is a time and energy intensive drain on teachers. With the proper support by the schools (time to prepare being the number 1 factor) it is possible and the rewards reaped by the students great. It does not happen without serious intention.
_ We envision using technology to further a learning community where: • Students take more responsibility for their own educational success and are enthusiastically engaged in problem solving, risk-taking, and hands-on learning.
• Teachers use technology in support of learning in an innovative, creative, and efficient manner. They function as coaches, mentors, advocates, and managers
of information. They have the knowledge and skill to use technology to enhance the delivery of a challenging and inter-disciplinary curriculum, which addresses student specific needs, and learning styles.
• Technology is used effectively to allow more of the school system's financial and human resources to be focused on student education.
• Schools become an environment where students and teachers have ready access to software tools and applications, knowledgeable support staff,
information, and external resources to further the curriculum goals. Schools will have the capacity to be responsive to a dynamic, fluid, and global society.
This Vision further down the page was drafted from our brainstorming flip charts as a starting point for the team to edit.
Some minor editing was done and ideas were grouped thematically, but at our 12/14 meeting, we decided at this point
to focus on key "big ideas". Here are some of the ideas discussed:
Big Ideas / Themes
General:
raise the bar -- strive for excellence, not just improvement
a paradigm shift is happening - the right technology can help
Ideas about the technology itself:
ubiquitous access and use of technology at home and school
device independent, flexible
leverage cloud computing
low cost (to the school)
Ideas regarding our assumptions regarding where the strategic plan and curriculum is heading:
emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication and collaboration
students as members of a global community
support 21st century learning skills and performance
student-centered learning with teachers as coaches
Ideas about critical dependencies:
emphasis on responsible & ethical use of technology (integrate into curriculum)
risks must be understood and policies must be estalished
importance of professional development
Vision (generally too long – help tighten it up! Can we combine or shorten points?)
A student-centered, teacher-facilitated collaborative learning community that challenges children to become responsible,
ethical members of a global society with the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are necessary today and paramount
in the future.
Technology is integrated into a learning process where: § Students take the lead in their learning, coached by their teachers and working in collaboration with and mentoring their
fellow students § Teachers model life-long learning and are supported by the community in their professional development § Technology enables teachers to address students’ individual learning styles and special needs
§ Hands-on learning, physical experience and ‘live’ interaction are actively incorporated to create real connections to
the student’s world § Learning is largely project and inquiry based with an emphasis on 21st Century Learning Skills and Performance Indicators,
with an emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving and communicating ideas effectively
§ Technology used in the learning process is ubiquitous so that all students, teachers and parents have equitable access to key
technology and information for a continuous learning process at both school and home. (§ Let students use technology they have) § Teachers actively collaborate to leverage individual strengths; best practices are shared openly and spread virally
§ The learning experience evolves based on child development, leveraging natural curiosity at younger ages and nurturing that
curiosity with ever-increasing challenges designed to develop critical thinking and problem solving (the idea behind this was to make problem solving and analytical thinking present at a very young age - that by middle school these are skills that are completely within the range of all the middle school skills).
Deployment of technology must be cost-effective and flexible to account for an incredibly fast rate of change in both technology
and the learning process.
end Additional thoughts: Key points from the brainstorming that are very important to our goals and recommendations but may be more about the technology
solution or may be too tactical to fit in with the above vision: § Reduce the use of paper (a benefit – may actually contribute to ‘self-funding’ some technology) § Wireless § Lower cost than today § Leverage the internet and Web 2.0 § Open Access § Equity across Andover schools (but point was made in vision above that ‘all’ need access at home and school) (I believe that this is an issue of equity across the different school buildings in Andover) § Multiple Modalities (asked Group 3 to explain what is meant by this) § Transparency (not sure about this one – should we incorporate into one of the points above?) § Leverage for productivity (Please clarify - is this about learning or administration?) How to make the vision real for people: I’m a big fan of scenarios to paint a picture through an example – i.e. describing the typical day for an actual child.
Also, it’s sometimes useful to create a “from-to” chart where you contrast the learning environment/process of today
with our vision in order to create a picture of change. If we do this, it’s important that we choose neutral words so as
to not be overly critical of today’s world – the focus is on a positive view of tomorrow, not a negative view of today.
After drafting the above, I reviewed the Vision & Mission sections in the 2008-2012 Technology Plan that Ray shared.
There were many common themes.
Andover School District is committed to providing responsive technology and digital literacy for all students and the entire Andover Public School community that will prepare our students to thrive in an ever changing globally competitive world.
General:
Raise the bar -- strive for excellence, not just improvement
Paradigm shift is happening - the right technology can help
Community of Learners
Develop students to become life long learners
Ideas about the technology itself:
Ubiquitous access and use of technology at home and school
Device independent, flexible
Leverage cloud computing
Low cost (to the school)
Where the strategic plan and curriculum is heading:
Emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication and collaboration
Students as members of a global community
Support 21st century learning skills and performance
Student-centered learning with teachers as coaches
Critical dependencies:
_
Current Vision Statement
From the flip chart at the meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (in blue):Everyone has connectivity wherever they are.
- in the classroom
- library after school
- teachers, staff, students, volunteers, parents
? email accounts
Examples of this would be that anyone, anywhere, in any school building would have internet (and presumably network) access.
Energized faculty
- faculty can initiate new technology
Examples of this would be that teachers and students could apply for "grant" money to initiate some new technology in their classroom. The idea behind this would be that it would be borne from a real classroom need and desire, the research of feasibility is done by the requestors, there is buy-in and ownership from the faculty and students, and that nothing is being artificially imposed upon the teachers. Concerns about equity from building to building or course to course will work themselves out in time - especially as ideas about differentiation are spread throughout the schools. It might benefit some children to learn a particular unit without the use of technology and some other children would benefit more by the use of technology, for example.
Instruction in ethical use of technology
Examples of this would fall under the ethics, good choices, and character education that already exist and evolve. Some attention would be paid to technology specific items, but if the overall education is already happening, student merely need to learn to apply the principles to technology. For example, students know and learn that stealing is wrong. What they don't see is that when they take music, for example, from each other or share software, that can also be stealing. Included would be the learning of making good choices about where they go on the Internet.
Student centered learning
Examples of this are found in the Alan November video, many of our discussion and it keeps coming back to shifting the paradigm from teachers as the benefactors of knowledge to teachers as co-learners.
Parent involvement
- access to classroom learning in evening
An example of this is the parent gets to look at a website to see what his/her child did in class that day to help inform their interaction with the child that night. There are some canned possibilities that allow parents to see quiz scores, attendance/tardy information, but to me, the real world application is one where the students keep a blog of what goes on in their class each day. This will vary depending on the child's age, but it is easy to imagine that a classroom job be a quick recap of the day or unit including a picture or two each day to a blog that the parents can access and (!) comment on.
Shift cost away from school
- free software
- network providers
An example of this is the proposal that Ray has outlined for us about bringing a 4G network into the school. It addresses concerns about connectivity as well as cost.
Differentiated learning available to in every classroom - enriched/ES
This item came up as a way of including the idea that technology can be a terrific tool to help with differentiation. Ray mentioned an online charter school as one example of the way that technology can support differentiation. For different schools the woord differentiation means different things. It might refer to learning styles, learning abilities, and learning preferences. It should include all of these things. Differntiation is not easy and is a time and energy intensive drain on teachers. With the proper support by the schools (time to prepare being the number 1 factor) it is possible and the rewards reaped by the students great. It does not happen without serious intention.
_
We envision using technology to further a learning community where:
• Students take more responsibility for their own educational success and are
enthusiastically engaged in problem solving, risk-taking, and hands-on learning.
• Teachers use technology in support of learning in an innovative, creative, and
efficient manner. They function as coaches, mentors, advocates, and managers
of information. They have the knowledge and skill to use technology to enhance
the delivery of a challenging and inter-disciplinary curriculum, which addresses
student specific needs, and learning styles.
• Technology is used effectively to allow more of the school system's financial and
human resources to be focused on student education.
• Schools become an environment where students and teachers have ready
access to software tools and applications, knowledgeable support staff,
information, and external resources to further the curriculum goals.
Schools will have the capacity to be responsive to a dynamic, fluid, and global society.
This Vision further down the page was drafted from our brainstorming flip charts as a starting point for the team to edit.
Some minor editing was done and ideas were grouped thematically, but at our 12/14 meeting, we decided at this point
to focus on key "big ideas". Here are some of the ideas discussed:
Big Ideas / Themes
General:
Ideas about the technology itself:
- ubiquitous access and use of technology at home and school
- device independent, flexible
- leverage cloud computing
- low cost (to the school)
Ideas regarding our assumptions regarding where the strategic plan and curriculum is heading:- emphasis on critical thinking, effective communication and collaboration
- students as members of a global community
- support 21st century learning skills and performance
- student-centered learning with teachers as coaches
Ideas about critical dependencies:
Vision (generally too long – help tighten it up! Can we combine or shorten points?)A student-centered, teacher-facilitated collaborative learning community that challenges children to become responsible,
ethical members of a global society with the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are necessary today and paramount
in the future.
Technology is integrated into a learning process where:
§ Students take the lead in their learning, coached by their teachers and working in collaboration with and mentoring their
fellow students
§ Teachers model life-long learning and are supported by the community in their professional development
§ Technology enables teachers to address students’ individual learning styles and special needs
§ Hands-on learning, physical experience and ‘live’ interaction are actively incorporated to create real connections to
the student’s world
§ Learning is largely project and inquiry based with an emphasis on 21st Century Learning Skills and Performance Indicators,
with an emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving and communicating ideas effectively
§ Technology used in the learning process is ubiquitous so that all students, teachers and parents have equitable access to key
technology and information for a continuous learning process at both school and home. (§ Let students use technology they have)
§ Teachers actively collaborate to leverage individual strengths; best practices are shared openly and spread virally
§ The learning experience evolves based on child development, leveraging natural curiosity at younger ages and nurturing that
curiosity with ever-increasing challenges designed to develop critical thinking and problem solving (the idea behind this was to make problem solving and analytical thinking present at a very young age - that by middle school these are skills that are completely within the range of all the middle school skills).
Deployment of technology must be cost-effective and flexible to account for an incredibly fast rate of change in both technology
and the learning process.
end
Additional thoughts:
Key points from the brainstorming that are very important to our goals and recommendations but may be more about the technology
solution or may be too tactical to fit in with the above vision:
§ Reduce the use of paper (a benefit – may actually contribute to ‘self-funding’ some technology)
§ Wireless
§ Lower cost than today
§ Leverage the internet and Web 2.0
§ Open Access
§ Equity across Andover schools (but point was made in vision above that ‘all’ need access at home and school) (I believe that this is an issue of equity across the different school buildings in Andover)
§ Multiple Modalities (asked Group 3 to explain what is meant by this)
§ Transparency (not sure about this one – should we incorporate into one of the points above?)
§ Leverage for productivity (Please clarify - is this about learning or administration?)
How to make the vision real for people:
I’m a big fan of scenarios to paint a picture through an example – i.e. describing the typical day for an actual child.
Also, it’s sometimes useful to create a “from-to” chart where you contrast the learning environment/process of today
with our vision in order to create a picture of change. If we do this, it’s important that we choose neutral words so as
to not be overly critical of today’s world – the focus is on a positive view of tomorrow, not a negative view of today.
After drafting the above, I reviewed the Vision & Mission sections in the 2008-2012 Technology Plan that Ray shared.
There were many common themes.